Though National Signing Day has come and gone, the Florida Gators added another commitment to their 2011 recruiting class on Friday. Four-star quarterback Jacoby Brissett (West Palm Beach, FL) of Dwyer High School committed to Florida at his school’s basketball game Friday evening.

Brissett planned to send his National Letter of Intent to the Gators via fax on Saturday; however, his mother Elicia Brown will make him delay that step until Monday as she plans to do anything in her power to convince him to change his mind and commit to the Miami Hurricanes instead. Because Brissett is under 21, a parent or guardian’s signature is required on his LOI in order for it to be official.

“It came down to UM and Florida. I just had to follow my heart, and my heart lies in Florida,” Brissett said in front of his school’s gymnasium Friday. “It came down to making the decision where I felt the best for me,” he told the Palm Beach Post. “I can’t please everybody, and I’m hurt that I hurt my mom, as you can see I was crying with her before the game. She means the world to me.”

Brown noted that Brissett’s decision to commit to the Gators was not her choice. “I’m very disappointed,” she told the Associated Press. “There’s a chance it might not be over yet, I’m going to try to talk him out of it,” she conveyed to ESPN. “He hasn’t faxed his letter yet, he is just orally committed.”

She also told ESPN, in harsh specifics, why she was disappointed in his decision to attend Florida. “I didn’t like the way Florida handled the [recruiting] process,” Brown said. “I’ve never met [head coach Will Muschamp] face-to-face and I find that very disrespectful. ‘The U’ showed respect to the mom and that’s what I had hoped would influence Jacoby’s decision.”

Brissett isn’t backing down. “I know she’s not happy and that hurts me because my mom is everything to me,” Brissett told ESPN. “But I know she has always supported me and will always support me. I had to make the decision for myself and my future. I’m very firm in my choice.”

With five-star QB Jeff Driskel (Oviedo, FL) already in the fold as an early enrollee, offensive coordinator/QB coach Charlie Weismade a strong push to get a commitment out of Brissett almost immediately when he took the job in January.

After meeting the student-athlete, Weis called Mushcamp to request a scholarship offer for Brissett. Muschamp quickly granted one even though the player had previously only been offered a greyshirt by former head coach Urban Meyer.

Brissett, who passed for 2,743 yards, 32 touchdowns and only one interception in his senior season, plans to make Driskel earn a spot ahead of him and is confident he will succeed in the orange and blue.

“I’m not moving no positions. I’m a quarterback. [Driskel will] have to prove to me every day, every year, that he’s going to be better than me for him to win that starting spot,” said Brissett, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Though Driskel is the consensus No. 1 QB in the 2011 class, Brissett is ranked No. 5 by Rivals and No. 9 by Scout. ESPNU lists him as a three-star player and the No. 25 QB in the country. He has said on numerous occasions that he is not scared of competition and is confident he will eventually win a starting job at whatever college he chose.

A two-sport athlete, Brissett has indicated that he would like to pursue basketball at a collegiate level. Whether or not Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan will provide him with that opportunity remains to be seen. However, Brissett noted that Donovan said that he can attempt to earn a spot on the team if he so chooses.

Committing to Florida, he joins three former Dwyer teammates who decided to play for the Gators in 2010 – safety Matt Elam, tight end Gerald Christian and wide receiver Robert Clark.

The Post reports that Elam and freshman WR Chris Dunkley both attended Brissett’s basketball game and commitment ceremony. Brown noted that Elam is the reason Brissett plans to attend UF.

“Jacoby’s best friend since he was six plays at Florida and that had everything to do with [his decision],” she said.

With his signing, it is almost a certainty that redshirt freshman QB/tight end Jordan Reed will permanently switch to TE and freshman QB Trey Burton will change positions, too. Muschamp noted on Wednesday that Burton can play either defensive back or a hybrid fullback/QB role on offense. The status of freshman QB Tyler Murphy has not been discussed, though the player has said he only wants to be a signal-caller.

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38 Comments

Whew… it would have hurt my heart if we had wound up losing this kid after the hype all day. Welcome aboard and let the games begin! Nice to have some talented depth at QB! Now some good hands to catch and we’ll be all set. GO GATORS! Oh yeah, wouldn’t hurt my feelings if we pick up Jenkins tomorrow.

Welcome Brissett,
I’m excited to see you battle with Driskel; I honestly believe this will work out for the best. Great move about joining the Gator Nation, Very surprised. Welcome aboard, lets get these real orange and blue student athletes ready to go. Btw Weis is showing a glimpse of his recruiting prowess. Great Grab!

He will be a great asset. It would be awesome to have him redshirt next season, and play hoops for 4 yrs, give him the extra time to learn. Without going through spring ball, Brantley and Driskel will certainly be ahead of him on the depth chart.

Unless his mother convinces him otherwise, this is the first real win for the new coaching staff. Yea, they got Gorman at the UA game, but that was pretty much a done deal already. This is the first true big time commit they have pulled.

Interesting, someone said he was 6′ 10 when the rumor first surfaced yesterday he would be a gator, but ESPN lists him at 6’4 230, so much for another big man on the hoops team. Will be harder to compete for a spot with beal coming in and the guards we already have. Still, I hope his mom doesnt change his mind, will be awesome for us!

If we recruit qb’s like this every year….we won’t get stuck in a brantley situation again where he is our only true option…his mom sounds like an ego maniac b—h…let um recruit her as a cheerleader..while her son comes to the ville & gets treated like a rockstar! Welcome home brisset!

the brantley situation again? Geez, this guy will be an NFL starter, he is that good. People are so down on him for being a first year starter in an offense that didn’t really fit his skills. He will excel, he is a great QB, and come next year he will be on an NFL team…

SHOCKED! I hope this doesn’t turn out to be a Georgia situation – 2-3 very capable QB’s on the same team that think they should all be the starter; Murray, Gray and uuuh ……. the other guy. Then one of them says they might transfer. Would have been more excited if this was Grant or Jernigan, but good news none the less.

With all due respect, I doubt Brissett is perusing the comment section of “OGGOA” tonight. Perhaps it was an ill advised comment, but unless something is said a random comment on a chat board effecting his signing, cut the above poster some slack.
Also, Adam seems to have enough sense to not over react, or he would have taken the post down.

This is not the first case where a mom was unhappy with their sons decision when it involved Charlie Weiss. While still at Notre Dame, Charlie was heavily recruiting a kid named Greg Little out of North Carolina. The language he used during an in-home visit really offended this kids mom. It offended her enough that she convinced the kid to de-commit from Notre Dame and Commit to UNC. Not saying this is the case with Brissett, but it sounds familiar. I know the language flies on the field and in the locker room, but it needs to be tempered in front of parents.

This recruiting year actually turned out a lot better than I imagined. Hopefully next year we can load up on DL and LB. Adam who if any are potential recruits at those positions that the new coaching staff might be looking forward to next year?

Brissett is old enough to form his own thoughts & opinions….mothers should be possitive reinforcement not controling divas…to go public about her personal disproval of brissett not going to miami shows how manipulative and controling she is….take ur greater than thou mentality somewhere else ….I post honest opinions. Born&raised in the swamp….I have a great feeling about next year!! See ya n the swamp!!

Thinking about the comments of Brissetts mother, I can’t help but wonder if some of their success in recruiting south Fla is that the parents are able to become “rock stars” in their hometown. Possible that they are treated VERY well on campus, game days, and road trips, and a couple of “My son plays football at the U” bumper stickers could get them some street cred they would never get otherwise. I could be way off base, and maybe this mom is just a little ego-centric, but it’s one of those things that makes you go , hmmmmmmm….

I still find his recruitment interesting as he doesn’t seem to fit the pro-style offense we are supposed to be going towards…was he recruited with the thought he would compete with Driskel for the starting position….would he be used as a spread change of pace and then groomed to eventually be able to run the pro style offense….are we in the mix for any top pro-style QB’s the next two years? And you have to wonder what Driskel thinks of this addition as well…I am sure he is not fearful of competition but if we were in his shoes it would be hard not to think them going so hard for Brissett was a sign they were not completely sold on you.

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